Asphalt Emulsion Sealer (275 Gallon Tote)

There are 4 ways to mix sealer inside a tote prior to application or transfer to your sealcoat tank:

1. Use one of our portable spray systems to connect to the tote's suction port and the tote's return feed. Recirculate the sealer for 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Use a compressor with a long 6’ lance to stick down in the top port of the tote. Push the air from the compressor throughout the bottom of the tote to bubble and agitate the material for about 15 minutes.

3. Do both of the above together for optimal sealer agitation results.

4. Use an IBC electrical tote mixer that is mounted on top of the tote. The mixer has a long shaft with a mixer head on it that spins inside the tote to agitate. These electric mixers are quite costly so option 3 above is generally the most commonly used.

We carry commercial-grade DOT spec sealer with a coverage rate of 100 square feet per gallon.

• 5,500 square feet per 55 gallon drum. 
• 22,000 square ft per pallet of sealer and 
• 27,500 square feet of coverage per 275 gallon tote

Temperatures must be 55 degrees or warmer for 3 hours after application for it to dry properly. Cure times will be longer in cooler conditions. The hotter it is, the faster the water evaporates from the sealer and the dry time can be as fast as 30 minutes. Try not to apply if hotter than 105°F.

Ideally sealer should dry for a couple of hours before it rains. It may need more time if it's very cloudy and humid.

There is no need for two coats, but if you're doing two coats, do them a week apart so the sealer has time to cure completely.

Your sealer comes Ready to Use so you do not really need to dilute unless needed to. If needed - like during the hot days of summer, you can dilute up to 5-10%.

The best way to do this is with a drum mixer that you attach to a drill. It's faster and more thorough than using a broomstick or other long-handled implement. We have one available here: Drum Mixer.

The cause of this is over-agitating the sealer. Only recirculate your sealer for 2-3 minutes max at the beginning of the day and maybe for a minute at the beginning of each job.

You get this when the sealer is too thick and the pump cannot create a prime to circulate the sealer. Dilute it properly to achieve 20 to 30% water dilution.

Use a dipstick to check the level of your sealer at the end of the day and the next time you use your system, just in case of water evaporation (if the levels are different, add enough water to regain the previous sealer level).

Another possible reason could involve the system's ball valve. On the output part of the pump, there's a ball valve that allows you to redirect the sealer to the top of the tank or to the spray gun. If that ball valve is constantly or permanently broken to the spray gun, you wouldn't get recirculation.

No matter what time of year it is, you must protect against freezing temperatures. This is true of storing asphalt sealer for the day or the season. Otherwise, you will end up with a ruined product that is useless to you. Make sure your sealant storage is 45º to 50º F whether it’s the end of the day or the end of the season.

It's best to always have a bucket of soap and water handy. If there are stains, try an orange based hand cleaner available at any auto parts store. Apply to the overspray and let it work in for several minutes before removing with soapy water. You may have to repeat this application several times.

It comes down to your weight and convenience. Totes weigh a grand total of about 3,000 lbs. As it sits for periods of a week or longer, the sediment and the clay in the sealer will settle to the bottom leaving a thick sludge at the bottom of the tote. This means that when you go to suck from the bottom of the tote with a spray system, it will suck the sludge through the pump and put a lot of strain on the pump. But it will suck it up and then recirculate it back to the top of the tote if used with one of AK's Spray Systems. In recirculation mode, when the sealer reenters the top, it - of course - settles down to the bottom again and sucks from the bottom. The thing is the suction point at the bottom of the tote has a one-way output valve and so when it sucks from that area, it will suck the sludge from that given area with a circumference of, approximately, or a diameter of, approximately, one foot. And what happens is the sediment will remain at the back corners of the tote and unless you can get down there with a long broomstick or a long drum mixer for totes, it can get very challenging to get the sediment solids moved to the suction feed of that tote, which means that you would end up with sealer that doesn't have the right amount of solids in it because, of course, when a tote's originally filled, it had a right amount of solids. A Tote is heavy to move around so you need a forklift or you need a very strong power jack to be able to move it around like a skid steer. Drums weigh about 650 lbs. You can use a dolly to move it around. It has a ring lid at the top, and the lid pops right off. You can use one of our drum mixers to mix up the sealer. It’s easy access and is a simpler to operate from and also to mix. Make sure it's mixed to its proper water to sealer ratio where the solids are mixed back in the water. It makes it a lot easier for you to pump the sealer without strain and allows you to spray a consistent, final product that is ready for application. Any time you leave sealers sitting in totes or drums, it does require full agitation of the material before it is sprayed on any surface or applied via buckets with brooms and/or squeegees.